We boarded another boat and traveled north along the coast past the Cinque Terre, which is five small, colorful villages that cling to the foot of the Ligurian cliffs along Italy’s west coast. Originally fishing villages, they now rely primarily on tourism. Although very popular with American, German and Italian tourists, they weren’t too crowded when I was there. The towns are linked by boats, a train and a popular hiking trail that cuts across the cliff below almost vertical vineyards. Different segments of the trail vary in difficulty and one was closed due to two landslides when I was there. For example, there are 360 steps on the Corniglia-Manrola segment and there are places along all but the Rioaggiore-Manrola segment where the trail becomes little more than a narrow ledge with a steep drop to the sea below with no railing. The area is simply beautiful.
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